Slotted cable retainer for lifting assembly and method of assembling

ABSTRACT

A lifting assembly is provided. The lifting assembly includes a cable end housing defining an inner cavity. The lifting assembly also includes a retainer ring disposed in the inner cavity at an end thereof. The lifting assembly further includes a cable retainer disposed in the inner cavity of the cable end housing and operative to retain a cable end fitting of a cable, the cable retainer extending from a first end to a second end and defining a slot extending from the first end to the second end to provide installation and removal access of the cable end fitting, the slot having a first slot portion and a second slot portion that are angularly oriented relative to each other.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The embodiments herein relate to lifting assemblies and, moreparticularly, to a slotted cable retainer for such lifting assemblies,as well as a method of assembling a lifting assembly.

Many lifting devices require attachment of a wire rope, such as a cable.This may be done by inserting a cable end fitting into a cable retainer,with the components being relatively dimensioned to prevent inadvertentremoval of the cable end fitting during regular use. The loading on thelifting device is such that off-center forces may exist, thus requiringthe cable end fitting to be a ball type fitting (i.e., spherical). Thecable is required to be replaced on a regular basis, so attachment ofthe cable to the lifting device needs to support easy removal andreplacement. The cable is relatively long (e.g., greater than 200 feet),so it is not practical to thread the entire length of the cable throughthe lifting device in order to achieve attachment.

The cable needs to remain securely attached to the lifting devicewhether there are tension forces or forces in the opposite direction(i.e., compression). Typically, attachment of the cable is achievedthrough a retainer ring and a pair of split retainers all located in acylindrical cavity. The split retainers are assembled to the cable endfitting and the retainer ring is positioned on the split retainers. Thisassembly is then inserted into the cavity of a housing. However, it canbe appreciated that a human installation operator may find difficultywith assembly of the several components described above, particularlydue to the split retainer arrangement that must sandwich the cable endfitting.

Providing tension on the cable is present, the split retainers arepulled against the retainer ring and thus remain attached to the cableend fitting. A retaining device is added to prevent detachment of thecable from the lifting device during compressive forces of the cablesince such forces may separate the split retainers that otherwise retainthe cable end fitting. Unfortunately, the retaining device is prone toincorrect installation due to the cumbersome assembly effort describedabove.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

According to one embodiment, a lifting assembly is provided. The liftingassembly includes a cable end housing defining an inner cavity. Thelifting assembly also includes a retainer ring disposed in the innercavity at an end thereof. The lifting assembly further includes a cableretainer disposed in the inner cavity of the cable end housing andoperative to retain a cable end fitting of a cable, the cable retainerextending from a first end to a second end and defining a slot extendingfrom the first end to the second end to provide installation and removalaccess of the cable end fitting, the slot having a first slot portionand a second slot portion that are angularly oriented relative to eachother.

According to another embodiment, a method of assembling a liftingassembly is provided. The method includes disposing a retainer ringwithin an inner cavity defined by a cable end housing. The method alsoincludes bending a cable to align the cable with a slot defined by acable retainer, the slot having a first slot portion and a second slotportion that are angularly oriented relative to each other. The methodfurther includes inserting the cable through the slot into the cableretainer. The method yet further includes pulling the cable to engage acable end fitting of the cable into contact with an inner surface of thecable retainer. The method also includes placing the cable retainer andthe cable end fitting within the inner cavity of the cable end housingand into contact with the retainer ring.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The subject matter which is regarded as the invention is particularlypointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion ofthe specification. The foregoing and other features and advantages ofthe invention are apparent from the following detailed description takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a disassembled view of a portion of a lifting assembly;

FIG. 2 is a partially assembled view of the lifting assembly;

FIG. 3 is an end view of the lifting assembly in an assembled condition;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the lifting assembly in theassembled condition; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a cable end fitting of the liftingassembly self-retained within a cable retainer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a portion of a lifting assembly isillustrated and generally referenced with numeral 10. Several types oflifting assemblies, systems or devices may benefit from the embodimentsdescribed herein. For example, a crane, hoist or winch, are exemplaryembodiments of lifting assemblies that would particularly benefit fromthe embodiments of the invention described herein. However, thepreceding list of examples is merely illustrative and it is to beunderstood that alternative lifting assemblies may incorporate theembodiments of the invention described herein.

In the illustrated disassembled view of the portion of the liftingassembly 10, several elements of the overall assembly are shown. Thelifting assembly 10 comprises a cable end housing 12 that defines aninner cavity 14 for housing components for retaining a cable end fitting16, as will be appreciated from the description herein. The cable endhousing 12 may be formed of several components that are operativelycoupled to each other to form the overall housing (FIG. 4).Additionally, certain components of the cable end housing 12 may bebiased in desired manners with various biasing members, such as thesprings illustrated in FIG. 4. The inner cavity 14 defined by the cableend housing 12 at an interior region thereof. Although severalalternative geometries of the inner cavity 14 are contemplated, anexemplary embodiment of the inner cavity 14 comprises a substantiallycylindrical geometry.

With continued reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a cable 18 is shown to bedisposed within the inner cavity 14 of the cable end housing 12. In afinal assembled condition, the cable end fitting 16 is disposed andretained within the cable end housing 12 to secure the cable to theportion of the lifting assembly 10. The cable end fitting 16 istypically formed of a substantially spherical geometry. Therefore, thecable end fitting 16 may be referred to as a ball type fitting. Thisgeometry accommodates off-center forces that the cable 18 may exert onthe lifting assembly 10 due to varied loading angles of loads applied tothe cable 18.

A retainer ring 20 defines an aperture 22 that is sized to fit over thecable end fitting 16 and is inserted into the inner cavity 14 of thecable end housing 12. The retainer ring 20 is inserted in a longitudinaldirection of the cable end housing 12 to an end 24 of the inner cavity14, as shown in FIG. 4.

A cable retainer 26 includes a first end 28 and a second end 30. Acurvilinear wall 32 forms the cable retainer 26 and includes a retainerinner surface 34 and a retainer outer surface 36, with the retainerinner surface 34 defining an interior region 37 of the cable retainer26. The cable retainer 26 also defines a slot 38 extending completelythrough the curvilinear wall 32 and completely from the first end 28 tothe second end 30. More specifically, the slot 38 is defined by a firstretainer wall 40 and a second retainer wall 42. The first and secondretainer walls 40, 42 each include a first wall portion 46 and a secondwall portion 48 that are angularly oriented relative to each other todefine a geometric orientation of the slot 38 that is characterized as“chevron.” It is contemplated that only one of the first and secondretainer walls have the angular oriented wall portions to form thechevron slot. A chevron orientation refers to a substantially zigzaglength of the wall(s) to form a slot that does not extend along a singlelinear segment along its entire length. More precisely, the slot 38includes a first slot segment 50 and a second slot segment 52 that areangularly oriented relative to each other, such that the segments 50, 52are not parallel.

The cable retainer 26 is a single, integrally formed component incontrast to cable retainers having multi-piece designs, such as splitcollar designs, for example. The unitary cable retainer 26 allows aninstallation operator to easily grip the cable retainer 26 with one handwhile inserting the cable 18 through the chevron slot 38 by bending thecable to align with the orientation of the chevron slot 38. The unitarycable retainer 26 may even facilitate one-handed installation of thecable 18 through the slot. Upon insertion through the slot 38, the cableretainer is inserted into the inner cavity 14 of the cable end housing12. Insertion is made until the retainer outer surface 36 of the cableretainer 26 contacts a ring inner surface 44 of the retainer ring 20.The retainer outer surface 36 and the ring inner surface 44 havesubstantially corresponding geometries, such that the cable retainer 26seats within a portion of the retainer ring 20 upon full insertion ofthe cable retainer 26 into the cable end housing 12. Typically, thecable retainer 26 and the retainer ring 20 are in direct contact. Thecable 18 is then pulled to bring the cable end fitting 16 into contactwith the retainer inner surface 34 of the cable retainer 26. Such afinal assembled condition is shown in FIG. 4.

Advantageously, the chevron slotted cable retainer 26 described hereinhas self-retaining capability to the cable end fitting 16, as shown inFIG. 5. Additionally, installation and removal efforts are substantiallysimplified in comparison to a cable retainer having multiple components,such as a split collar design. In addition to enhancing the assemblyprocess, a more reliable assembly is achieved with the embodiments ofthe cable retainer 26 described herein. Specifically, the cable fittingcannot be inadvertently removed from the cable retainer 26, even duringa compressive force being applied to the cable 18. This is due to thesingle component that forms the cable retainer 26. In contrast, a splitretainer may loosen during the imposition of a compressive force on thecable 18, thereby extracting the cable 18 and potentially leading tosafety hazards.

While the invention has been described in detail in connection with onlya limited number of embodiments, it should be readily understood thatthe invention is not limited to such disclosed embodiments. Rather, theinvention can be modified to incorporate any number of variations,alterations, substitutions or equivalent arrangements not heretoforedescribed, but which are commensurate with the spirit and scope of theinvention. Additionally, while various embodiments of the invention havebeen described, it is to be understood that aspects of the invention mayinclude only some of the described embodiments. Accordingly, theinvention is not to be seen as limited by the foregoing description, butis only limited by the scope of the appended claims.

1. A lifting assembly comprising: a cable end housing defining an innercavity; a retainer ring disposed in the inner cavity at an end thereof;and a cable retainer disposed in the inner cavity of the cable endhousing and operative to retain a cable end fitting of a cable, thecable retainer extending from a first end to a second end and defining aslot extending from the first end to the second end to provideinstallation and removal access of the cable end fitting, the slothaving a first slot portion and a second slot portion that are angularlyoriented relative to each other.
 2. The lifting assembly of claim 1,wherein the slot is defined by a first retainer wall and a secondretainer wall, wherein the first and second retainer walls each includea first wall portion and a second wall portion that are angularlyoriented relative to each other.
 3. The lifting assembly of claim 1,wherein the slot is defined by a first retainer wall and a secondretainer wall, wherein one of the walls includes a first wall portionand a second wall portion that are angularly oriented relative to eachother.
 4. The lifting assembly of claim 1, wherein the cable retainercomprises a single, integrally formed component.
 5. The lifting assemblyof claim 1, wherein the cable end fitting comprises a sphericalgeometry.
 6. The lifting assembly of claim 5, wherein the cable retainercomprises a retainer inner surface having a geometry corresponding to aportion of the spherical geometry of the cable end fitting.
 7. Thelifting assembly of claim 1, wherein the cable retainer comprises aretainer outer surface in direct contact with a ring inner surface ofthe retainer ring.
 8. The lifting assembly of claim 7, wherein the ringinner surface comprises a geometry corresponding to a portion of thegeometry of the retainer outer surface.
 9. The lifting assembly of claim1, wherein the lifting assembly is part of a hoist.
 10. The liftingassembly of claim 1, wherein the lifting assembly is part of a crane.11. The lifting assembly of claim 1, wherein the lifting assembly ispart of a winch.
 12. A method of assembling a lifting assemblycomprising: disposing a retainer ring within an inner cavity defined bya cable end housing; bending a cable to align the cable with a slotdefined by a cable retainer, the slot having a first slot portion and asecond slot portion that are angularly oriented relative to each other;inserting the cable through the slot into the cable retainer; pullingthe cable to engage a cable end fitting of the cable into contact withan inner surface of the cable retainer; and placing the cable retainerand the cable end fitting within the inner cavity of the cable endhousing and into contact with the retainer ring.